ROCK & ROLL NIGHTCLUB
ALEX XERRI + CASEY CHEN
ROCK & ROLL NIGHTCLUB
28 July – 8 August 2021
VISIT ‘ROCK & ROLL NIGHTCLUB’ ONLINE VIEWING ROOM
Virtual Opening Event: Wednesday 28th July 2021, 6pm onwards
Catalogue & Price List: View PDF Catalogue (4 Mb)
Welcome to the club! Saint Cloche is thrilled to present two artists crossing paths in a unique pairing. Diversity in networks feeds creativity and is no less important for artists as well.
A pas des deux between friends began when Casey Chen and Alex Xerri met while studying at the National Art School in Darlinghurst and found they had a shared appreciation for making art about strange creatures, animals, history and checkerboard patterns. Both artists enjoy exploring themes of nostalgia and the past through their work.
Rock and Roll Nightclub is an album by Mac DeMarco which both artists enjoyed throughout their time at National Art School in their studios. Be inspired by Alex & Casey’s creative inner sanctum, Tune in here to get you in the mood for opening night!
+ + ALEX XERRI + +
“I draw from nostalgic memories of my own childhood and create vibrantly coloured and robustly textured works. I am informed and inspired by TV documentaries, scenic Playstation1 games, and early cel animation cartoons, I would say, my paintings and sculptures explore pre-millennia aesthetics.”
– Alex Xerri
About Alex Xerri
Alex Xerri is a painter and sculptor based in Sydney and represented by Saint Cloche. Paleontology and Documentary are the crux of her painting practice. She explores prehistoric life, and the notion of documentary as a tool and a viewpoint, as well as documenting documentaries themselves in their various formats. Xerri is heavily inspired by the work of David Attenborough, National Geographic Magazine, and the 1990s reptilian dinosaur found in BBC’s Walking With Dinosaurs, as well as Godzilla and Jurassic Park.
Xerri’s studio practice also draws upon a nostalgia for lo-fi technology, drawing upon early experiences of making MacPaint nature paintings on her family’s beige Macintosh II, as well as navigating strange polygonal lands found in PlayStation 1 gaming. She explores these pre-millennia aesthetic sensibilities further by drawing upon the vibrant colours found in the early wobbly, scenic cel animation of The Simpsons. She makes paintings with acrylic and stone on canvas and has expanded into building soft sculptures and wooden sculptures painted with vibrant colours and robust textures.
Alex Xerri has exhibited in Sydney as well as internationally in Nottingham UK, and Seattle and New York City USA.
+ + CASEY CHEN + +
“I work with blending childhood nostalgia with long-standing East-Asian ceramic traditions. I apply my imagery to hand thrown plates and vases which are then fused with geometric patterns from traditional craft and a contemporary perspective.”
– Casey Chen
About Casey Chen
Sydney-based ceramic artist Casey Chen’s practice references historical illustrations from an eclectic mix of folklore, mythology and pop culture. For the National Art School 2020 Grad Show, Casey drew upon imagery and motifs from the archetypal tales of the four great classic novels of Chinese literature: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West, Water Margin and Dream of the Red Chamber. The resulting works were both a self-exploration and a homage to the rich and enduring history of Chinese porcelain craft and Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Blending childhood nostalgia with long-standing East-Asian ceramic traditions, Casey applies his imagery to hand-thrown plates and vases, which are fused with geometric patterns from traditional craft and contemporary perspective.
Casey graduated from the National Art School in Sydney last December with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree majoring in ceramics and was the recipient of the annual Harvey Galleries National Art School Exhibition award.
VISIT ‘ROCK & ROLL NIGHTCLUB’ ONLINE VIEWING ROOM
Catalogue & Price List: View PDF Catalogue (4 Mb)
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